Protest in Yerevan against Lapshin extradition

16:06 • 08.02.17

Members of the opposition alliance YELK on Wednesday held a public gathering outside the Belursian Embassy in Yerevan in protest against Alexander Lapshin’s extradition to Azerbaijan.

Speaking to reporters at the protest site, the leader of Bright Armenia (a political party affiliated with the alliance), Edmon Marukyan, called for urgent action to condemn the Belarusian authorities’ move on the Foreign Ministry’s level.

“This yet another time reaffirms the fact that there is no friendly attitude to Armenia in the frameworks of either the Collective Treaty Organization or the Eurasian Economic Union. I am under the impression that Azerbaijan is a CSTO or EEU member, as Belarus always votes against Armenia.”

The extradition of a man to a county whose military is governed by the rules of the Islamic State creates a precedent of isolation, Marukyan added.

Questioning the role and mission of the Armenian ambassador to Belarus, the politician further called for urgent efforts towards recalling him. “We must recall our ambassador to consider further diplomatic relations,” he added.

The protest was also attended by Garnik Isagulyan, the National Security party's leader, who highlighted the importance of all the procedures related to extradition.

Lapshin was arrested in Minsk, Belarus in December 2016, upon the demand of the Azerbaijani authorities who blamed him for a blog story addressing the human rights situation in the country. If convicted, he may face 5-8 years in prison.

Earlier, Azerbaijan blacklisted the blogger for visits to the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.